07/07/2026
Athens needs a new idea. There’s a growing population of individuals that need more help than the people who live and work downtown are able to offer. There are mental health issues at play. There are housing issues to consider. There are financial impacts that are felt. Downtown businesses are filled full of compassionate folks. We offer drinks and foods to people who sleep rough on the streets (at this moment someone sleeps right next to our building in the middle of the sidewalk and has since he came to town a week ago) as we can but are often taken advantage of. Each weekend, I am yelled at by a person I do not know that is suffering in ways I could never imagine for something neither of us know anything about. Our staff is endlessly asked for favors of every kind. Everyday, multiple times per day, we clean up a pile of trash and scavenged cigarette butts and we try to keep our corner of the world feeling as new and beautiful as ever. Make no mistake, we are friends with an entire community of folks that we know and are gentle and kind as can be and just need support, and they will always always always get our support in any way possible. Many are friends after years of conversations. Many of them have helped me or our staff with odd jobs or big jobs down all the days. But within the last year or so there has been an explosive uptick in the number of times I’ve felt unsafe during an interaction with a stranger in need of support that I’m not qualified in any capacity to offer. People have started to avoid patio sitting as a result. People mention to me frequently that coming downtown now feels much different than it ever has before. Again, we do not have a solution. We will not leave downtown ever. That is not a solution. We love this town. Our corner. And I don’t believe for a second that nothing can be done to help more people in need. So what do we do? I swear to god we try everyday. Best as we can. I don’t mean to complain. This is not a complaint. It’s just a wondering.
